Join me (Alex Heeney) on a journey through three films I programmed inside Reel Ruminators — a British political thriller, an Indigenous Canadian documentary, and a queer South African drama — and discover how their contrasts help to illuminate each other.
Women Directors
In honour of #52filmsbywomen, we've collected all of our reviews of films directed by women and interviews with female directors all in one place.
Ep. 174 Mission: Impossible (1996) with Angelo Muredda
With the final chapter of the Mission: Impossible saga now in cinemas, we rewind to where it all began: Brian De Palma’s 1996 original.
HotDocs Review: Chase Joynt and Julietta Singh’s The Nest
Alex Heeney reviews Chase Joynt and Julietta Singh’s The Nest, a Gothic documentary about a haunted house that reveals lesser-known parts of Winnipeg’s intersectional history.
InsideOut Reviews: Sandbag Dam, The Nature of Invisible Things
Alex Heeney reviews Rafaela Camelo’s The Nature of Invisible Things and Čejen Černić Čanak’s Sandbag Dam at Toronto’s InsideOut LGBTQ+ Film Festival: two sensitive films about young people that young people should see.
Ep. 173 Beginnings and Endings: Jane Austen Wrecked My Life (dir. Laura Piani)
On the podcast, Alex delves into the beginning and ending of one of the year’s best films, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. A close look at how tone, structure, blocking, and design create a powerful emotional payoff.
Ep. 172 Jane Austen Wrecked My Life (dir. Laura Piani)
On the podcast, Alex recommends Laura Piani’s Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, a witty and warm film with a touch of melancholy about a woman getting unstuck.